10 Famous Songs Whose Meaning The Fans (And The Pundits) Got Wrong

Crash Into Me is a staple of lists of this type. It’s easy to understand why: the song is sweet, sensual, and with lyrics like, “Hike up your skirt a little more, and show your world to me,” it can only be about sex.

But, alongside the openly sexual we have this:

You’ve got your ball

You’ve got your chain

Tied to me tight, tie me up again

Who’s got their claws in you my friend?

Into your heart I’ll beat again

Couple this with the song’s wistful delivery and some fans have interpreted the song as being less about lust and more empathetic heartache.

So what does it actually mean? Matthews is on record as stating that the song is written from the perspective of a ‘peeping tom,’ giving it a distinctly voyeuristic edge. Despite this, he said of its use in the film Lady Bird: “And the moment in the movie when it plays is so beautiful: Lady Bird takes a stand, you know? It was also nice for me to see this song through someone else’s eyes because I have a strange relationship with a lot of the music I’ve written. I listen to it and I’m like, ‘What am I talking about? This is bulls**t.’ So seeing ‘Crash Into Me’ in Lady Bird allowed me to hear my music without having to impose myself on it.”